Deprivation of Liberty: Is English Law Where it Should Be?

Following the Supreme Court judgment in Cheshire West and others in March this year the number of people lacking capacity who must now be regarded as being deprived of their liberty is very large indeed. This has created an almost unsustainable pressure on local authorities to deal with a very high volume of applications for deprivation of liberty authorizations. Is this to be welcomed as an important protection of the human rights of very vulnerable people, or is it a misdirection of scarce public resources?